Joakim Noah gives rising defense of Derrick Rose missing time to injuries after Bulls top the Raptors 100-93.

TORONTO — There are many reasons Joakim Noah is considered the emotional leader of the Bulls.

Perhaps never have they been displayed in fuller force than late Thursday night after the Bulls’ impressive 100-93 victory over the Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

Following yet another drama-filled day for Derrick Rose, one in which Rose didn’t back down from his comments about keeping the long term and post-playing career in mind as he monitors his injuries and then left the victory late with what he called a minor left hamstring tweak, Noah let loose with a passionate defense of Rose.

“As a teammate, it’s frustrating because I feel like he’s sometimes portrayed as something that he’s not,” Noah said. “You don’t come back from the injuries he has come back from without unbelievable commitment.

“It’s disappointing because I know how much he cares about this game. I see it every day. We’re really in this together. This is not a one-man team. But at the end of the day, we need him. I don’t want to see him down.

“I know sometimes it’s frustrating. You have injuries. You have tweaks. Every time something happens to him, people act like it’s the end of the world. That’s (bleeping) so lame to me. Like, relax. Like, OK, he’s coming back from two crazy surgeries. Obviously, we’re being conservative with him and when things aren’t going right, he has to listen to his body more than anybody. So everybody needs to chill the (bleep) out.

Pau Gasol posted his sixth double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds and the Bulls placed at least five players in double figures for the ninth straight game in a 100-93 victory over the Raptors. Derrick Rose added 20 points and five turnovers before leaving with a left hamstring...

(K.C. Johnson)

“I’m sorry for cursing. But I’m really passionate about this. I don’t like to see him down. He doesn’t say that he’s down. But I don’t like it when people portray him and judge him because it’s not fair to him. It’s not.”

Rose’s comments from Tuesday had dominated headlines and opinions. Even on the Raptors’ first regular-season home TNT telecast in more than 12 years, Charles Barkley called the comments “stupid.” That Rose didn’t back down at the morning shootaround, saying he was just being himself and that he “could (not) care less” about those upset by them, only fanned the flames.

Rose, who played through myriad injuries in the 2011-12 season before tearing his left ACL in April 2012, admitted his two serious knee injuries — a torn meniscus followed in November 2013 — has shaped his outlook.

That his commitment has been called into question did bother Rose.

“Yeah, to a certain degree,” Rose said. “But I can’t do anything about it. I just have to let God handle that and put every performance and every article behind me every day.”

All the action from the Air Canada Centre.

Rose scored 20 points with 10 trips to the line but had four of his five turnovers in the fourth quarter before exiting with 1 minutes, 53 seconds left, shortly after slipping on a drive.

Rose said he suffered cramps in the hamstring and that it may be so minor as to not require an MRI. He planned to ice it and use stimulation on it, didn’t rule out practicing Friday and said it’s too early to determine whether he would play Saturday against the Pacers.

“Just over-stepped. Probably stretched it out a little bit more with my left leg, and probably got a cramp in it,” Rose said. “It just comes with the process in missing two years.

“This is going to happen. I’ve talked to a lot of people who have had surgeries. My agent (B.J. Armstrong) had five or six surgeries. Just trying to do everything right. Eat right, hydrate right, stretch right, work on my flexibility. Just try to put everything on my side … just trying to get better.’’

Pau Gasol’s 27 points in his sixth double-double helped the Bulls tie the Raptors atop the Eastern Conference. The Bulls have placed at least five players in double figures in all nine games. They also outrebounded a second straight foe and held the Raptors to 39 percent shooting.

“Pau has been unbelievable in terms of everything — how he has practiced, how he has helped lead, how he has played offensively and defensively,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “He has brought a winning attitude to our team.”

The Bulls, 5-0 on the road for the first time since 1996-97, committed seven second-quarter turnovers before scoring and surrendered a 14-1 run late before a clutch jumper from Jimmy Butler, who had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

“We have a very, very good team,” Rose said. “We know on any given night anyone can step up and have a big night. The way we share the ball, the way we pass, it’s contagious.”